Not a woodshed

[PapaDave]

Seems I'm just about the only one who hasn't posted pics of his stacks, so here goes. The row on the right in this pic was in process of being moved to front of house stacks. It's been backfilled about halfway. The rest will have to wait for the spring.
Left row is next winters wood. Each 96' row is sectioned into 6, 16ft.x 5' high stacks. Quick, do the math. OK, n/m, each row is 5 cord.
Southern exposure is to the left. Wide open gas well field on my property, with lots of sun and wind and the guy who checks the meter and I are the only ones who know about it. So far, .....I think.
I goofed when I put up the 2nd row posts. Its 5 ft. from the first, but now I can't get through there with the utility trailer or the 17 cu/ft trailer. In the fall, the sun doesn't get so high in the sky, so the bottom of the r/h stack doesn't get any sun until late spring. That will be remedied in the spring when the l/h stack gets moved to the front. I'll move the posts to the left a couple ft., then the following year, the r/h row will get moved to the right a foot or 2.
The wood I'm burning now is anywhere from 14-20%, so I'm finally becoming a happy wood burner! WooHoo!
Just need a newer stove, and I can be an even happier wood burner. It's only :roll: taken me 3 years to get this far. I'd say that makes it a lifestyle.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Nice stacks. You do not usually see a 96 foot row. Did you actually dig holes for those posts? Are you using a wood that will not rot like Locust or Sassafras?

 

[LLigetfa]

Ja, my woodshed too has been a long evolution as I learn from my mistakes and make design changes.

 

[PapaDave]

Nice stacks. You do not usually see a 96 foot row. Did you actually dig holes for those posts? Are you using a wood that will not rot like Locust or Sassafras?

The long rows are to try maximizing the sun exposure. I have the room. Really nice after living in the city all my life.
Posts are 2.5 ft. down, and a mix of oak, spruce, and pretty much what I had laying around. I had a log load delivered in May, so I'm using some of those under the stacks to keep it all off the ground. Those will get bucked up as I use the wood, so they don't get punky.
Last year, everything went right on the ground,...........BAD mistake. Won't happen again, and I'm thinking of putting up a woodshed in the front (like some others here). Messing with tarps for the past 4 years has been a real pain in the ***, um,......bootay.
I've got some posts in the ground in front of the house that were put down the fall of '06, when we moved here. They're still there, and they're pine. Crazy, huh?
I have some sassafras boards I got from an Amish guy down near Hillsdale over 12 years ago, but no logs. I need to make something with those. The wood smells great.

 

[PapaDave]

Ja, my woodshed too has been a long evolution as I learn from my mistakes and make design changes.

I MIGHT have this all figured out by the time I'm.......... oh, I don't know........dead.
Been meaning to ask, if you don't mind, what exactly does LLigetfa stand for?

 

[LLigetfa]

what exactly does LLigetfa stand for?

Nothing profound. First initial, followed by the first 7 chars of my last name.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Papa I always assumed that was your wood supply in your avatar.

I did the opposite of you, I moved from a place with acreage and trees to a small city lot. Although there was plenty of wood available on the property I didn't heat with wood at the last place because we were caretakers there and our electric heat was paid for as part of the perk package for our care taking duties. So now when I see picture of people's wood piles like that I get envious of the space more than the wood.
We were at the last place for about 12 years, I thought I would be happier on a small lot with less to take care of, but I just feel cramped and claustrophobic. We had so much space for so long we just took it for granted, now I do something simple like fill up the wheelbarrow with rocks and I can't even figure out where to dump it. It's frustrating.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I've come to realize that what you have there is probably the best drying method available, meaining the single row stack. I have 5 cord in three rows with a foot between them. I don't think I'll do that again, I think I'll go with single row with enough room between to get a wheelbarrow. For me it just dries better in a single row, top covered, open on sides.

 

[PapaDave]

Papa I always assumed that was your wood supply in your avatar.

I did the opposite of you, I moved from a place with acreage and trees to a small city lot. Although there was plenty of wood available on the property I didn't heat with wood at the last place because we were caretakers there and our electric heat was paid for as part of the perk package for our care taking duties. So now when I see picture of people's wood piles like that I get envious of the space more than the wood.
We were at the last place for about 12 years, I thought I would be happier on a small lot with less to take care of, but I just feel cramped and claustrophobic. We had so much space for so long we just took it for granted, now I do something simple like fill up the wheelbarrow with rocks and I can't even figure out where to dump it. It's frustrating.

It is. Only problem, is that, the darn logs won't fit in the stove like that. Soooooo, I have to cut it all up, split it, stack it... hence the stacks in the pic.
This pic is where the other stuff ends up. In front of the house. There are 2/3rds cord right next to the front porch under where the pic was taken (I was on the roof, for some reason...with the camera). 4-5 of those face cords are 9 ft. long.

 

[bogydave]

Nice stacks & amounts. Good way to get it dry.
Most of us wish we all that log length wood with the problem,
PapaDave QUOTE: "Only problem, is that, the darn logs won’t fit in the stove like that. Soooooo, I have to cut it all up, split it, stack it…"
& we almost feel sorry for you, almost.

I hear you about the tarps & needing a wood shed. This summer, it's time for me.
Between the snow, wind , rain, replacing/finding the tarps after a big wind, tangled up tarp threads in the trees, dry-rotted tarps that leak,
just looking funky after they've been weathered/ripped/shredded & what I lose on the bottom that rots, it's time.
Plus now with the catalytic, I'm picking hundreds of plastic tarp threads off the wood before I burn it.

 

[savageactor7]

Holy cow those are some long rows, one nice thing I like about that is all the room PapaDave has to service those rows too. Thing is I know it gets colder in MN than here and our rows use to collapse all the time because of frost heave...those fence posts probably help lock down any movement I guessing.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Dave, I can certainly tell that you did not take those pictures this month! Good work.

 

[PapaDave]

Dave, I can certainly tell that you did not take those pictures this month! Good work.

Dennis,
I think that was back in the beginning of July for the long rows. The other pic is in front of the house from '07, just after the crew got done with the new roof.
Better watch out, I'm on my way to catch your 20 some cords :exclaim:



& we almost feel sorry for you, almost. smile
Bogy, No complaints, just said in jest. :coolsmile: I did the log load thing to make sure I got on the path to woodburning nirvana.

 

[gerry100]

I envy your stack and would do it the way if I had the layout.

Another plus is the ability to eyeball instantly how much you've used and how much you need to replace for next year.

 

[PapaDave]

I envy your stack and would do it the way if I had the layout.

Another plus is the ability to eyeball instantly how much you've used and how much you need to replace for next year.

Gerry,
yep, the tarped stuff is right in front of the house. I can look out the stove room windows and see what's left. I'm out there all the time anyway, pulling wood from the farthest stack to bring to the porch or into the house, so I always have a good idea what I'm going through and also what remains.
The stuff I don't use this winter will get moved to the stacks right next to the porch, then the stuff in the back field gets moved up to replace it. The logs get bucked, split, stacked in back to replace that. FIFO system.
Of course, if I put up a big enough woodshed............well, I still need to put the stuff out back to get it dry.